Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Most of the crimes committed around the world are generally because of anger rather than bitter animosities. Even most of the divorces accrue out of an angry debate which fails to affix any blame on the other and out of frustration, one stamps out and files a divorce suit or even pronounce divorce there and then. It is only after the anger has subsided that one realize the grave error one has committed, but by then the harm had been done.

This seemingly uncontrollable emotional outburst is today the root cause of many a murder, killing of innocent people in sheer frustrated anger and divorces. Anger also leads to domestic and street violence. The recent incident of lynching of two brothers in Sialkot was nothing but a show of extreme anger and frustration. One could see devil in the guise of humans beating the two brothers in a heartless emotional outburst. Anger also leaves many housewives and domestic servants bruised, with broken bones or sometimes even burnt by throwing kerosene oil and setting the victim ablaze.

Why we get angry anyway? Well to my reckoning, there are many causes and reasons for this. Some which I can think of are appended in following lines.

Social injustice perhaps is the major cause of hate and anger. Those deprived of what others have usually feel frustrated when they are unable to fulfill the basic needs of their families. Poverty may be acceptable, but when it is accrued out of injustice, it causes extreme emotional outbursts. Lack of job opportunities to qualified but the poor is one of the biggest social injustices prevailing in our society. When one is rejected interviews after interviews, but sees unqualified candidates getting the jobs due to “safarish” really frustrates the jobless, and results in anger. And when one is unable to control one’s emotional outburst, one resorts to violence.

Coupled with social injustice is poverty. Every other day we hear news of men committing suicide or even murdering the entire family before ending their own life. Innocent people when find no avenues to feed their families get frustrated and then either harm someone else in a bid to steal something or harm their families and self for finding no way when frustrations gives rise to uncontrollable anger.

Although alcoholism is not the chief root cause of anger related violence in our country, but around the world, this also results into uncontrollable emotional state.

Although may not be proven, anger can be genetic. One inherits hate and anger from one’s ancestors. This may be due to some wrong doings by someone to one’s ancestors which gets into genetics and transformed into the others. There are examples of some people more prone to quick temperatures as compared to others.

Sometimes we get angry on petty things. Like for instance a person honking at your back or flashing lights to overtake knowing full well that traffic ahead is blocked or moving slow. We express our anger if someone crosses the red light while we are abiding by the law and have stopped. We even mutter a few angry words if a lady violates a queue and approaches the window or desk directly. And many such small things that are irritating, but obviously not to induce a temperature increase.

No matter whatever is the root cause of this negative emotional state, being angry most of the time is not a healthy behaviour. Since being angry has a cumulative effect not on one’s own self and health, but people around as well. One can lose relationships, friends and dear ones, rather makes enemies from just an emotional state that can be harnessed, managed and controlled. But this depends on the person whether he/she is really cognizant of the negative impact of anger and whether he/she is really willing to get rid of it. Uncontrollable anger may even lead to diseases like hypertension, escalated blood pressure and even heart related diseases as well.

Being angry or having uncontrollable emotions is something that can ruin your business or lose your job. As businessmen or managers managing a business, a hyper emotional state may ward off clients and call off business deals. Managers and supervisors with hyper moods can demoralize workers and thus affect their efficiency and productivity, causing financial losses and stakes of the company.

So what to do? How to control one’s anger? I often ask myself as I also fall in the category of those needing a thermometer more often than not to check their mercury level. Well nothing is impossible; it needs will and determination, if nothing else.

I will deliberate on the measures or response in my next post. So wait patiently and don’t get agitated if my next post takes a little long to appear.